Mary H. Baker

Mary Baker's love of children was well known. She had four of her own -- Michael, 12; Scott, 11; John, 10; and Allison, 9 -- from an earlier marriage, and anyone who knew her was sure to find out about one son's football league or another's skill with the violin.

"She was entirely devoted to them," said Jo-Ellen Ferreira, who worked with Baker at a Lincoln, R.I., doctor's office.

And she was crazy for babies.

Her husband, Warren Baker III, said her desire for more children was a joke they shared. "She always wanted more. She used to say she wanted to adopt some," he said. The couple married in 2001, and had dated for about five years before that.

Baker said whenever he and his wife went out -- to bowl or to see a band -- Mary made friends. "She was the life of the party," he said.

She seemed to be the life of the office, too.

"She was phenomenal with her patients, and especially good with the kids," said her boss, Dr. Robert Tarro.